California 2023-2024 Regular Session Status: Passed Assembly 1 D cosponsors

AB 1559 — Elections.

Last action — In committee: Held under submission.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Assembly
  4. 4
    Passed Senate
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill died with 2023-2024 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Assembly” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.

This bill is no longer active — its legislative session has ended, so there is no live prognosis. It would have to be reintroduced in the current session to move again.

Summary

(1) Existing law generally requires electronic poll books, ballot manufacturers and finishers, ballot on demand systems, voting systems, and remote accessible vote by mail systems to be approved by the Secretary of State before their use in an election. This bill would authorize the Secretary of State to impose additional conditions of approval for these purposes. (2) Existing law requires a ballot card manufacturer, ballot card finisher, or ballot on demand system vendor to notify the Secretary of State and affected local elections officials in writing within 2 business days after discovering any flaw or defect that could adversely affect the future casting or tallying of votes. This bill would instead require a ballot card manufacturer, ballot card finisher, or ballot on demand system vendor to provide that notice within 24 hours. (3) Under existing law, specified election materials, including voted ballots, are required to be kept by county elections officials for 22 months for elections involving a federal office or for 6 months for all other elections. This bill would add paper cast vote records to the list of materials county elections officials are required to keep. The bill would also require county elections officials to keep certain electronic data for 22 months for elections involving a federal office or for 6 months for all other elections. By imposing additional duties on county elections officials, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. (4) Under existing law, it is a felony punishable by imprisonment for 2 to 4 years to interfere or attempt to interfere with the secrecy of voting or ballot tally software program sources codes or to knowingly, and without authorization, possess a key to a voting machine that has been adopted and will be used. This bill would specify that, with respect to the secrecy of voting or ballot tally software program sources codes, the phrase interferes or attempts to interfere with, includes but is not limited to, knowingly, and without authorization, providing unauthorized access to, or breaking the chain of custody to, certified voting technology during the lifecycle of that certified voting technology, or any finished or unfinished ballot cards. The bill would also expand the crime of knowing and unauthorized possession of a key to a voting machine that has been adopted and will be used to include knowing and unauthorized possession of credentials, passwords, or access keys to a voting machine that has been adopted and will be used. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the destruction or secure disposal of certified voting technology at the end of lifecycle with the written approval of the Secretary of State and the manufacturer. The bill would also require specified actions to be taken for any part or component of certified voting technology for which the chain of custody has been compromised or for which security has been breached or attempted to be breached, including that the technology be removed from service immediately. (5) Existing law prohibits a voting system from being connected to the internet and from receiving or transmitting wireless communications or wireless data transfers. This bill would prohibit establishing a network connection to any device not directly used and necessary for voting system functions and would prohibit communication by or with any component of the voting system by wireless or modem transmission. The bill would require a voting system to be used in a configuration of parallel central election management systems separated by an air-gap, as defined. (6) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.

Bill Text

Action History

  1. In committee: Held under submission.

  2. In committee: Referred to APPR suspense file.

  3. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on APPR with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 4. Noes 0.) (July 11). Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  4. From committee: Do pass and re-refer to Com. on PUB S. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 7. Noes 0.) (June 20). Re-referred to Com. on PUB S.

  5. From committee chair, with author's amendments: Amend, and re-refer to committee. Read second time, amended, and re-referred to Com. on E. & C.A.

  6. Referred to Coms. on E. & C.A. and PUB S.

  7. In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment.

  8. Read third time. Passed. Ordered to the Senate. (Ayes 80. Noes 0. Page 2048.)

  9. Read second time. Ordered to third reading.

  10. From committee: Do pass. (Ayes 15. Noes 0.) (May 18).

  11. In committee: Set, first hearing. Referred to APPR. suspense file.

  12. Re-referred to Com. on APPR.

  13. Read second time and amended.

  14. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on APPR. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (April 25).

  15. Re-referred to Com. on PUB. S.

  16. Read second time and amended.

  17. From committee: Amend, and do pass as amended and re-refer to Com. on PUB. S. with recommendation: To Consent Calendar. (Ayes 8. Noes 0.) (March 29).

  18. Referred to Coms. on ELECTIONS and PUB. S.

  19. From printer. May be heard in committee March 20.

  20. Read first time. To print.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 121 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (121)

121 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Votes

Do pass, but first be re-referred to the Committee on [Public Safety] with the recommendation: To Consent Calendar

Passed 7 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 5000
Unaffiliated 2000
Total 7000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (7)
Member Party Vote
Glazer — Yea
Newman — Yea
Allen, Benjamin Democratic Yea
McGuire, Mike Democratic Yea
Menjivar, Caroline Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Yea
Umberg, Thomas J. Democratic Yea

Official roll call →

AB 1559 Jackson Assembly Third Reading

Passed 80 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 47000
Republican 13000
Unaffiliated 20000
Total 80000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (80)
Member Party Vote
Villapudua — Yea
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Rendon — Yea
Friedman — Yea
Maienschein — Yea
Ting — Yea
Wood — Yea
Low — Yea
Holden — Yea
Mathis — Yea
Rodriguez — Yea
McCarty — Yea
Essayli — Yea
Waldron — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Eduardo Garcia — Yea
Jim Patterson — Yea
Luz Rivas — Yea
Vince Fong — Yea
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Addis, Dawn Democratic Yea
Aguiar-Curry, Cecilia M. Democratic Yea
Alvarez, David Democratic Yea
Arambula, Joaquin Democratic Yea
Bains, Jasmeet Democratic Yea
Bauer-Kahan, Rebecca Democratic Yea
Bennett, Steve Democratic Yea
Berman, Marc Democratic Yea
Boerner, Tasha Democratic Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Carrillo, Juan Democratic Yea
Cervantes, Sabrina Democratic Yea
Connolly, Damon Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Gabriel, Jesse Democratic Yea
Gipson, Mike A. Democratic Yea
Grayson, Timothy S. Democratic Yea
Haney, Matt Democratic Yea
Hart, Gregg Democratic Yea
Irwin, Jacqui Democratic Yea
Jackson, Corey A. Democratic Yea
Kalra, Ash Democratic Yea
Lee, Alex Democratic Yea
Lowenthal, Josh Democratic Yea
McKinnor, Tina Democratic Yea
Muratsuchi, Al Democratic Yea
Nguyen, Stephanie Democratic Yea
Ortega, Liz Democratic Yea
Pacheco, Blanca Democratic Yea
Papan, Diane Democratic Yea
Pellerin, Gail Democratic Yea
Petrie-Norris, Cottie Democratic Yea
Quirk-Silva, Sharon Democratic Yea
Ramos, James C. Democratic Yea
Reyes, Eloise Gómez Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Schiavo, Pilar Democratic Yea
Soria, Esmeralda Democratic Yea
Valencia, Avelino Democratic Yea
Ward, Christopher M. Democratic Yea
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Wicks, Buffy Democratic Yea
Wilson, Lori D. Democratic Yea
Zbur, Rick Chavez Democratic Yea
Alanis, Juan Republican Yea
Chen, Phillip Republican Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Davies, Laurie Republican Yea
Dixon, Diane Republican Yea
Flora, Heath Republican Yea
Gallagher, James Republican Yea
Hoover, Josh Republican Yea
Lackey, Tom Republican Yea
Patterson, Joe Republican Yea
Sanchez, Kate Republican Yea
Ta, Tri Republican Yea
Wallis, Greg Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass.

Passed 15 Yea · 0 Nay · 1 Other
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 9001
Republican 3000
Unaffiliated 3000
Total 15001
% of votes cast 94%0%0%6%
How each member voted (16)
Member Party Vote
Holden — Yea
Mathis — Yea
Wendy Carrillo — Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Calderon, Lisa Democratic Yea
Fong, Mike Democratic Yea
Hart, Gregg Democratic Yea
Lowenthal, Josh Democratic Yea
Ortega, Liz Democratic Yea
Papan, Diane Democratic Yea
Pellerin, Gail Democratic Yea
Rivas, Robert Democratic Not Voting
Weber Pierson, M.D., Akilah Democratic Yea
Dahle, Megan Republican Yea
Dixon, Diane Republican Yea
Sanchez, Kate Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended, and be re-referred to the Committee on [Appropriations] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar

Passed 8 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 4000
Unaffiliated 2000
Republican 2000
Total 8000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (8)
Member Party Vote
Jones-Sawyer — Yea
Santiago — Yea
Bonta, Mia Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Ortega, Liz Democratic Yea
Zbur, Rick Chavez Democratic Yea
Alanis, Juan Republican Yea
Lackey, Tom Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Do pass as amended, and be re-referred to the Committee on [Public Safety] with recommendation: To Consent Calendar

Passed 8 Yea · 0 Nay
Party YeaNayPresentNot Voting
Democratic 5000
Unaffiliated 2000
Republican 1000
Total 8000
% of votes cast 100%0%0%0%
How each member voted (8)
Member Party Vote
Essayli — Yea
Low — Yea
Bennett, Steve Democratic Yea
Bryan, Isaac G. Democratic Yea
Lee, Alex Democratic Yea
Pellerin, Gail Democratic Yea
Rubio, Blanca E. Democratic Yea
Lackey, Tom Republican Yea

Official roll call →

Subjects

elections
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Frequently asked questions

What does AB 1559 do?
(1) Existing law generally requires electronic poll books, ballot manufacturers and finishers, ballot on demand systems, voting systems, and remote accessible vote by mail systems to be approved by the Secretary of State before their use in an election. This bill would authorize the Secretary of State to impose additional conditions of approval for these purposes. (2) Existing law requires a ballot card manufacturer, ballot card finisher, or ballot on demand system vendor to notify the Secretary of State and affected local elections officials in writing within 2 business days after discovering any flaw or defect that could adversely affect the future casting or tallying of votes. This bill would instead require a ballot card manufacturer, ballot card finisher, or ballot on demand system vendor to provide that notice within 24 hours. (3) Under existing law, specified election materials, including voted ballots, are required to be kept by county elections officials for 22 months for elections involving a federal office or for 6 months for all other elections. This bill would add paper cast vote records to the list of materials county elections officials are required to keep. The bill would also require county elections officials to keep certain electronic data for 22 months for elections involving a federal office or for 6 months for all other elections. By imposing additional duties on county elections officials, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. (4) Under existing law, it is a felony punishable by imprisonment for 2 to 4 years to interfere or attempt to interfere with the secrecy of voting or ballot tally software program sources codes or to knowingly, and without authorization, possess a key to a voting machine that has been adopted and will be used. This bill would specify that, with respect to the secrecy of voting or ballot tally software program sources codes, the phrase interferes or attempts to interfere with, includes but is not limited to, knowingly, and without authorization, providing unauthorized access to, or breaking the chain of custody to, certified voting technology during the lifecycle of that certified voting technology, or any finished or unfinished ballot cards. The bill would also expand the crime of knowing and unauthorized possession of a key to a voting machine that has been adopted and will be used to include knowing and unauthorized possession of credentials, passwords, or access keys to a voting machine that has been adopted and will be used. By expanding the scope of an existing crime, this bill would create a state-mandated local program. The bill would authorize the destruction or secure disposal of certified voting technology at the end of lifecycle with the written approval of the Secretary of State and the manufacturer. The bill would also require specified actions to be taken for any part or component of certified voting technology for which the chain of custody has been compromised or for which security has been breached or attempted to be breached, including that the technology be removed from service immediately. (5) Existing law prohibits a voting system from being connected to the internet and from receiving or transmitting wireless communications or wireless data transfers. This bill would prohibit establishing a network connection to any device not directly used and necessary for voting system functions and would prohibit communication by or with any component of the voting system by wireless or modem transmission. The bill would require a voting system to be used in a configuration of parallel central election management systems separated by an air-gap, as defined. (6) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Who sponsors AB 1559?
AB 1559 is sponsored by Jackson, Corey A. (Democratic).
What is the current status of AB 1559?
This bill died with 2023-2024 Regular Session. It reached “Passed Assembly” and never advanced before the session ended, so it can no longer move — a new version would have to be reintroduced in the current session.
Where can I track AB 1559?
Track AB 1559 free on One Click Politics — get push/email alerts when it moves.

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